In recent times, in-line type roller skates have become extremely popular. This type roller skate is most often identified as a ROLLERBLADE (ROLLERBLADE being the trademark of Rollerblade Inc.) and is distinguished from other roller skates by having three or more linearly aligned wheels.
In-line skates suffer from a problem that has plagued roller skates from their beginning. All forms of roller skates are unstable when the wearer has to walk on an uneven surface while wearing the skates. Stairs, sand, gravel and wet surfaces are examples of surfaces which are difficult to traverse while wearing in-line skates. Other problems include the wheels marking surfaces and surface damage from the high forces exerted by the wheels due to their small contact area. Many businesses currently outlaw in-line skates thus skaters must remove their skates before entering the premises which often requires that the skater carry an additional pair of shoes. Besides damage to property most buildings prohibit in-line skaters for the safety of persons walking in the building and for the skaters safety as well.
In the prior art, a number of skate accessories have been developed in an attempt to overcome the above noted problems. For example skate guards such as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 30,627 to Gibbs, 1,174,601 to Nathan, and 3,583,720 to Fowlkes address the problem of protecting the blades of ice-skates and do not address the problem of immobilizing the wheels on in-line skates. Wheel covers for roller skates have been addressed by Grim (U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,474), Dolce (U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,697), Loredo (U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,842), and Melendez (U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,187) but all are designed for roller skates that have tandem wheels. Zurnamer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,955, describes a roller skate wheel guard made of cloth which protects the wheel but does not provide stability for walking. Kassel in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,065, describes a flexible rollerblade guard which is designed to prevent wheel rotation. However the design is cumbersome to attach and not practical for most styles of in-line skate which have a rearward extension to receive a rubber brake. Anderson et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,224 teaches a in-line skate accessory which facilitates walking. This design covers only the front and rear wheels and relies on a rubber-like material to attach the cover and prevent wheel rotation.